THE AMERICAN MALL – A DYING BREED?

Everywhere I look I see headlines proclaiming that malls are “out.” CBS News reports, a dying breed: The American shopping mall, Business Insider reads, America’s Shopping Malls Are Dying a Slow, Ugly Death, Bloomberg says, Malled: The Hollowing Out of an American Institution and the New Yorker delivers, Goodbye, Malls of America, Are Malls Over? These headlines are alarming especially considering the recent news of the Janesville Mall JC Penney store closing and the Diamond Center relocation. What headline will appear next in our local newspaper? Luckily it’s all been good so far.
The demographics of Janesville and its surroundings have created interest for other retailers wanting to be tenants in the mall. With the announcement of Dick’s Sporting Goods and ULTA Beauty moving into a portion of the former JC Penney store and Rogers and Holland to occupy a portion of the Diamond Center space the Everything Must Go slogan has prompted excitement. Rumors of other anchor tenants occupying the remaining JC Penney store continue to swirl and the architectural improvements to the area where Dick’s Sporting Goods and ULTA Beauty will occupy will enhance the curb appeal. So here I refrain, we will not dye, slow or ugly, or surrender because the fate of the mall matters. It is an important source of economic activity, just ask the City of Beloit.

 The shopping center formerly known as Beloit Plaza or Beloit Mall, now the Eclipse Center is the Cinderella story of the dying mall, at least in my opinion. Once the home of three major department stores, Sears, JC Penney, Weise’s, and three other quality anchor tenants, Kohl’s Supermarket, Woolworth’s and Walgreens the Eclipse Center, named after Eclipse Windmill Company that once sat on the property, now houses the department store Elder-Beerman, several Rock County services, a newly remodeled convention center/bar, the Beloit Public Library, and two School District of Beloit charter schools. Along with those two schools there is an automotive shop and culinary program run by kids from Beloit Memorial High School. The final phase of the renovation is set to begin in January of 2015. To learn more about the exciting additions check out the article Transforming Eclipse Center: Final phase of renovations to begin. So here I chant once more, we will not dye, slow or ugly, or surrender because the fate of the mall matters.

What are the suffering communities doing with their mall vacancies? Click here to read 10 new uses for abandoned malls.